The Flying Burrito

Surprised to see such negative reviews. I‘m pretty picky about food here in Ames (even the so-called "exotic" places usually bland and boring...) but I really love this place. The ingredients are fresh and the selection is great. MUCH, MUCH, MUCH better than Qdoba and Pancheros. On a par or better than Chipotle.

This guy really knows how to run a business. Qdoba doesn‘t know their own menu, and Pancheros is like someone vomited a burrito on a fresh tortilla. The Fighting Burrito offers soyrizo, guacamole, or double veggies for those not getting meat on their burrito. They make a consistent burrito every time I go in. They do not smash everything together, so if you are used to that at the Pancheros trough, seek another eatery. Contrary to other reviews, I have always found the staff to be very cordial, already preparing the soyrizo for me, as I walk in the door. Their prices a good. Only drawback is the small amount of salsa given if an order of chips and salsa is desired.

This place used to be a great deal with a great staff.
Now, this place is at best a waste of your money. A waste of far too much of your money. I‘ll save you some time. Go to the store, buy a tortilla and some rice. Stuff the rice in the tortilla and there you have the Fighting Burrito‘s secret formula for success. No need to thank me.

I kept adding posts on here about my dislike of fighting burrito lately but I‘m sure due to my foul language they were not added to this site. I‘ve calmed down since then but I still think the Flying/fighting burrito has scaled down portions and upped prices too far! and all the new staff member are terrible . I‘m just wishing chipotle would come to town

not good!
Terrible
NEver going back
WORst waste of 7 dollars

I take my last rating back. Just compared this place to Panchero‘s, and it is wayy better. People have been telling me that Panchero‘s was better, so I just tried it for the first time, and I completely disagree. Flying Burrito is way better.

I would have given this place 3 or 4 stars last year or a few months ago, since the economy has been bad it seems like they are skimming on the portions. I‘d like more than one small scoop of meat on my burrito, please!!!

Fresh healthy ingredients all made instore. Yeah, some of the help look gruesome, but they‘re the ones who don‘t seem to be employed long. The long-timers are great!! The food is awesome and it‘s not a chain. I eat there whenever I get the chance.

I LOVE Flying Burrito!! It‘s so convenient with the delivery, and the people there (contrary to what many have said) are quite pleasant :). They have really fresh ingredients, and the restaurant may not be super upscale, but that is part of the charm! It has a very chill atmosphere, and is much better than other "fast food" restaurants. I would definitely recommend!!!! :)

I never liked this burrito joint. Its too dirty inside for me. The food quality was also poor. Price was right, but not worth the poor food. There are better places in town for burritos. Or if you have to, go to Des Moines for Chipotle. Best burrito in the state!

They don‘t care about food quality. Just about getting your $. Go to Taco Bell, or Cazador, West Street Deli makes a good wrap (burrito). I understand that being liberal is important to people today, but when it comes to food service, I like to know that my cook and or server doesn‘t deal drugs or have hep.

It‘s not bad but their tortillas taste like stale moldy bread, they don‘t use enough cheese.

Panchero‘s tastes better in just about every category even though they don‘t have the tortilla selection, I‘ll take one that doesn‘t taste like penicillin that was made fresh today.

Great built to order Burritos, the staff has alway been friendly and the ingredients fresh and top quality. I have never had a bad Burrito, but you can make a mess eating one if you are not ready for it. Love the Burrito.

A burrito place that delivers? Have I died and gone to heaven? Or, if you can‘t wait until you get home, pick one up as you walk home from Campustown Bars. I‘ve never had a bad burrito from FB.

amazing , this place has everything good music (random but still good) good food and good people .... hats off to you flying burrito you make one bad ass burrito

worth every penny.... stick to your roots ... thats exactly what flying burritos done.....i know i‘ve been getting this burrito for three years and its always been amazing :

Tomato tortilla
Wild rice
White beans
Grilled Veggies
Pork
Queso (best part of the burrito)
Spicy Corn
Cilantro lime sour creme
Lettuce
Black olives
Jalapenos
Cilantro
Lime
With house recipe hot sauce

If i got all that at burrito loco in Minneapolis , or chipotle it would run me about 10 bucks but at FB its only like 7 bucks.
OMG AND THE RICE CRISPY BRICKS AND BROWNIES ARE SO BIG..

always had a great meal staff is always nice and says hello the only downfall that Flying burrito has is that I graduate next year and THIS IS THE ONLY ONE SO PLEASE MOVE TO MINNESOTA!

They were better when they stuck to their roots. Raising prices again!?! They are good, but they were good for a cheap burrito. Now when you are paying $7 for a burrito, it better be good actually and consistent! I‘ve bought way to many and been pissed just because it was late and they were in a rush. Kinda miss eating there...

very good burrito, but it spit sauce all over my white shirt(warning for newbies).i would only say, more meat and less filler. but very good.

Look mommy! It‘s a bird! It‘s a plane! It‘s a Flying Burrito! TFB is a great place to get good food. The atmosphere they try to achieve is perfect. I love the loud music and the unique crowd in there. And it is always fun to see the nice dowdy little housewife type in there looking all confused. The staff is unique and very interesting to talk too. Seeing a guy with a lighter acting like a psycho that is going the burn down the building. I‘m sorry, but that is hilarious.

The food is good. It‘s not going to be winning any awards though. My main complaint is the chicken. Very dry. Other then that, great. The selection of fillings is great! I love the lime and cilantro.

The prices are fantastic. And the option to deliver is great! I consider flying burrito to be my fast food option if I don‘t want to go out and sit down. Definitely great for the college kids who need a quick meal at 2 am.

I‘m really just not impressed at all. The staff is nasty.

The people that say the employees are dirt-bags are ridiculous. okay is the chicken over cooked? yes, at three in the morning the chicken is over cooked. get over yourselves. everyone i know loves flying burrito. people come to town excited to eat here: FROM A DIFFERENT STATE. People just need to learn to expect what they get from cheap food... cheap food. For what it is Flying burrito is amazing. the portions are HUGE and they deliver.. what more do you want? I say get off your high horse and order you‘ll be pleasantly surprised..

I will never eat here again. They have huge rice burritos because that‘s pretty much all that is in them. I ordered a beef burrito and all it was was a bunch of rice and a couple of veggies. There wasn‘t even any salsa and guacamole which I had to pay extra for. They are fired from ever cooking a meal for me again!

The sickest burrito i have ever had! Panchero‘s is the place to get good burritos! Flying burritos rice was disgusting and in the time it took to drive 5 blocks home from the restaurant, my tortilla was completely soggy and falling apart. Waste of money and time.

I LOVE the burritos and appreciate the portion size (I can make two meals out of one burrito). However, yeah...customer service has been seriously spotty. When we first discovered this place, we used to call for delivery. Three times they sent us the same surly delivery chick....didn‘t crack a smile, barely said a word, made me feel like I should apologize to her for making her come out into the fresh air to deliver our food, so three times I opted not to tip her. The third time she actually said to me "We‘ve delivered to this address three times now and we don‘t appreciate the fact that you never tip. If you don‘t start tipping, we are not going to deliver to you anymore." Are you freaking kidding me??? I boycotted for awhile, but then fell off that wagon. I have never called for delivery again, and I only tip in the store if the service is extraordinary. I don‘t feel like they deserve the obligitory tip.

The food is good, but it is not worth dealing with the side-show that goes on in TFB on a nightly basis. Since when is acting like a dirt-bag acceptable in society? I know the employees are rebels and they are sticking it to the man by looking like they haven‘t showered in a week and wearing dirty clothes, but come on do that on your own time.

I had an "Ok" burrito, but sad to say I would drive to eat at Panchero‘s in a heartbeat over walking footsteps to Flying Burrito.
3 Main reasons I would rather dine at Panchero‘s:
1. Better tasting Burrito (can‘t beat their tortilla‘s)
2. Great customer service
3. Cleaner and more welcoming environment

It‘s interesting to read the comments from oldest to newest. The reviews from a few years ago are all raves about friendly and welcoming staff, but the past year or two most of the comments just mention surly, rude workers, and I‘d have to agree. The past few times I‘ve been in there, I was treated like I inconvenienced the staff or something, by, you know, actually making them serve me. This is something I totally hate to see at a restaurant of any kind. If you would rather stand in the back and txt your BFF Jill than serve your paying customers, then maybe you shouldn‘t be in the service industry. Of course I have to scoff at the "TIP" jar by register. Pleaaase.

Now, staff aside, the food is very inexpensive (I could get a combo meal at Taco Bell or Taco John‘s for the same price, with chain-restaurant quality ingredients), everything is made fresh, and the portions are huge. Just as good as (if not better than) a Panchero‘s. Never been to Chipotle, so I can‘t compare.

Also love the fact that if you‘re hungry at 2 in the morning, and you don‘t want to settle for Domino‘s or Jimmy John‘s, this place is open. Nice to have another option around. 4/5.

Jack Wiebel

No clue what those KIDS DOWN THERE ARE TALKING ABOUT ..... Everytime I‘m in flying burrito its super clean ..... maybe after a rush or busy hour they dont have enough time to clean up but they are busy.... maybe for those of you who‘ve never worked a food service job look at it this way... flying burrito is a tiny tiny place and they pump out tons of quality hand made foods no reason to complain ... good place , good tunes, local mom and pop shop and you cant complain about that!

No clue why this place is raved about; bland food, unmotivated staff, and cleanliness issues. I‘m guessing stoners and drunk college kids are about the only ones who would give this craphole a 5 star review.

Service was very poor. It also looked very unsanitary. My stomach agreed after eating there.

love it. i go for the two tacos, chips and salsa, and those giant rice crispy treats. yum! i would say though that sometimes the second taco is pretty soggy by the time i get to it, but besides that, good food and nice workers even if they‘re a bit unique.

Honestly this place is awesome! There are some things lacking, such as some cleanliness issues, and also how long it may take sometimes on drunkin nights. however, who cares when its that cheap. This isnt the place for people with 4 star expectations. What you can expect is a solid burrito made to order, and also more ingrediant options than poncheros(which sucks), and even chipotle. ENJOY

Flying burrito. If you want old ingredients, bad tortillas and surly college students, this is the place to be. I made a burrito after eating at fb. I mean, come on.

I‘m addicted to their salad with lots of fresh...everything. The homemade guac and fresh cilantro are super. I eat there several times a month. I have only one request...please start using romaine or other lettuces besides iceberg for yor salads!

No matter how drunk I am...I will never go there again. Tortilla shell dry. Meat dry. Beans old. Had to listen to the stupidest conversation between employees while they didn‘t make my food.

I guess I‘m spoiled since my hometown has two of the best burrito places ever; Chipotle and Freebird‘s. The burrito was mediocre and the staff kinda weirded me out.

love the food, love the atmosphere, perfect for a college town! reasonably priced, gigantic burritos, customized to how you order! :) i love TFB! plus, they deliver!

I love the options and the alternative to pizza, sandwitches and burgers -- but tone down the salt! the grilled veggies and chicken are like salt licks half the time i get them, the other half they are inexplicably gritty. a little bit better phone manners prolly wouldn‘t hurt either; i know it‘s not "cool" to be nice, but don‘t make things awkward.

Hats off to Flying Burrito for bringing a reasonably priced alternative after the first Panchero‘s closed. It‘s a lot of food, and inexpensive. Commendation for offering soyrizo as an interesting alternative, but I just think Panchero‘s is worth the extra money in Ames and Chipolte is worth a drive to Omaha for a San Fran-style burrito. This is a valiant attempt, but needs to improve atmosphere the structural integrity of their tortillas. With these improvements and some slight taste improvements we could have a legitmate burrito war in Ames.

Great idea, horrible taste, horrible experience

Price is unbelievable, very good food, atmosphere is horrible, needs better lighting and a little color.

Huge burrito for a good price and they deliver! More burrito options and a lot more character than the chains. Its a truly local business. Its grilled veggies are also better than Panchero‘s ‘cause you actually get something beyond a pile of onions.

Weird place. Weird staff. Poorly ran. mediocre food. One time was enough.

Chipotle? Sure, if you want to spend 30% more, have fewer options, and get a homogenized flavor. Last time I ate at Chipotle, I couldn‘t stop thinking about how much worse it was than FB. And don‘t even get me started on Panchero‘s... that place is 99% marketing & 1% food. FB has 4 kinds of tortillas, 2 kinds of rice, 2 kinds of beans, 3 kinds of meat, 3 kinds of sour cream, 2 kinds of cheese, 5 kinds of salsa, a variety of other fillings, and at least a dozen different hot sauces. Okay, now I‘m getting hungry!

Best burrito place I‘ve ever eaten at - and I‘ve been all over the country.

Nice place - if you want cheap food regardless of taste.

yummmmmmmmmmmmmm thats all there is to it

Poor mans Chipotle

I‘m partial to the food prepared with chicken and the desserts are good too, however I was very disappointed with the service on quite a number of occasions.

Once I tried ordering delivery and hadn‘t gotten my complete order figured out. The person taking the order got impatient, telling me rudely to figure it out and hung up on me! Some in-shop guy (the owner I‘m pretty sure) treated me like I didn‘t know anything about what I was ordering even though I‘ve grown up eating great authentic Mexican food. I would expect this kind of treatment from McDonald‘s or a big chain like that, but not from an establishment that depends on its local business in order to succeed.

I dunno... I know I‘m the devil for not supporting local business, but a Chipotle in town would wipe these guys off the map. It‘s just a lot better. I don‘t get what the big deal is about this place... I guess it is a good alternative to post-bar greasy food if you don‘t feel like a gyro...

Flying burrito is great for filling you up with two meals for the price of one. Food is healthy, yes, I said it, healthy. The ingredients are tasty AND good for you. Think about it.

Amazing food! I got delivery once that took about 40 minutes but it was during dinnertime and they were pretty busy. They have a giant selection of hot sauces and the airplane bathroom-style seat in the corner of the restaurant is fun to sit in.

The Flying Burrito offers the best burritos anywhere. $5.25 for the biggest and best tasting burrito you can find is an amazing deal. It‘s also a great environment with friendly employess and freshly prepared ingredients.

I love eating at the Flying Burrito. The food is delicious, and it is so entertaining to watch them make all their food right in front of the customers. That is the mark of fresh, quality ingredients.

Yeah, They were probably cutting the chicken into chunks so it could be serviced, basic procedure. I love them, plus the crew is friendly and helpful. Good prices and Great Food. Also I once got delivery and it took about 15 minutes. I have never got sick or seen misuse of food sanitation.

My girlfriend and I went there and we saw raw chicken and pork just sitting there on a cutting board. I have no idea how long it had been sitting there unrefrigerated. No wonder the previous poster said they got sick the past two times they ate there. I have some serious doubts about their sanitation.

Flying Burrito is AWSOME we love it ! Us office girls here at Health Alliance are always ordering from there, luv the taste and the grilled vegys is great the flavor is wonderfull.

I love FB, I eat there at least once a week. The food is always great and the giant rice crispy "brick" is the best. You must eat here. To the guy that would rather eat at Pancheros...whatever, the last time that I ate at Pancheros I was in Ankeny, the food sucked, it was almost double the price, and service was terrible.

This is a great place to go when the bars close. The roughly 2 block walk from campustown, or stumble if you‘ve been at the bars all night, gives you some time to reflect, or sober up. Once you get there, you better have a clear head, though, so that you can decide from their selection of fillings and sauces. Best Burrito Ever. Matt rocks!!

They added cheese sauce. It‘s soooo cheeeeseeeey.

Easily the best burrito I‘ve ever had. FB has decent prices, friendly staff, and thank you guys for being open LATE!

Healthiest and yummiest burritos you‘re going to find anywhere in town, hands-down. Staff is friendly and there are plenty of options for making a damn-fine and really inexpensive meal. The eating-in is fairly bare-bones, but I‘ve always taken my burrito to-go, so it‘s never been an issue for me.

The Flying Burrito is wonderful! They offer large portions for little cash. Also there is a lot of variety to which you can customize your burrito. The only way in which I would consider them needing improvement in is in the ambiance of the restaurant itself. It seems a little dreary. Other than that, the Flying Burrito is great tasting, filling food for cheap. Worth every penny!

The Flying Burrito is so awesome!! Yeah!

The Features does not list "smoke free delivery." The restaurant is smoke free, and they offer delivery.

the burrito is great but the "smoke free delivery" bit above is actually incorrect. the drivers are allowed to smoke in the notorious FB vehicle.

Great place for drunk college kids on any night of the week. Usually we stop by and grab one before catching the drunk bus home. Also its a bit more healthy than most places the deliver but at always it depends what you get on your burrito. All in all, big thumbs up.

Great place all around and especially if you have kids. Kids love them and they have a $3 dollar version of their signature burrito which is perfect for them. I also like that my vegetarian son can have some choices besides just "no meat".

I love that they prep and cook all the food on site including some of the sauces and salsas. They don‘t make their tortillas like Pancheros but that‘s not a big deal - they at least warm them up and have a nice variety.

They also taste great after a night at the bars and who can beat a $1 bottled water?

My Fav Flyer
-------------------------------------
Wheat
Wild
White
Pork
Cheese
Dab of Sour Cream
Tomatillo salsa
Cilantro
Squeeze of Lime
Green Tabasco

The rice crispy treats are awesome!

Their burritos are too big. It‘s difficult to eat.

Good food, also vegetarian option. It‘s worth the price.

Excellent service and amazing food anytime you have a craving! They‘re open til‘ like 4 in the morning on weekends and will deliver that late too...i‘ve probably downed a few hundred of these in the last few years, that‘s not a good situation....

mmmmm.. chicken burritto.... good idea, i am ordering one right now

Sometimes the chicken has a sandy crunchy quality to it, I think they scrape at the griddle they cook it on too hard and it scrapes up little burnt pieces that seriously feel like I‘m eating sand. If the chicken is good, however, This is my fav place to go.

I‘ve had bad burritos here but nowhere near as bad as at the Burrito Works in the MU. The Flying Burrito is certainly no Chipotle but it is some of the best fast food Ames has.

We are in Italy, and we miss the FB! Only 3.5 weeks until I can eat one again!

This is some of the healthiest food I‘ve found in Ames. All the food is prepared fresh and in store in front of us. Subway has nothing on these guys!

Nobody ever said that Flying Burrito was mexican food. Burritos don‘t have to be mexican to be good. Flying burrito hand makes it all and thats why its so good. So, stop whining all you babies....

great burritos for a great price...but everytime i eat one i can feel the grease pour through my vains and the saturated fat eat and cholesterol tax my liver

I would die for Flying Burrito. I love the staff and it is my favorite food in the whole world!

We eat here regularly and are thrilled that someone finally created excellent, simple Mexican-style food in central Iowa. It‘s relatively inexpensive, homemade, fresh and enormous portions...vegetarian options too. I can‘t relate to or even understand the few criticisms made by other reviewers. FB competes with and betters the "burrito bars" of the west coast. As a business, they seem to have everything going for them. I hope they have plans for expansion and investor possibilities.

It‘s not authentic Mexican (which is a good thing). If you can find it, you won‘t be disappointed (unless you‘re looking for "real" mexican).

Tastes almost as good comming up as it does going down; a great choice for a weekend bender.

people who like this place have never eaten real mexican food taco bell tastes better. It is the most americanized excuse for burritos ive ever eaten. Iowans need to learn what real mexican food is because this is not it

I‘ve never had a bad burrito, and this is my new favorite "Mexican" place in town. With all of the choices, it would take months before one repeated one‘s previous meal -- so lots of variety.

Staff is fast, professional, and friendly. They generously accomodate my whims of "no rice, but both types of beans" or "extra black olives, please" or the "soyrizzo" which takes a bit of extra effort but is prepared fresh. They are patient as I give directions over the phone to find my difficult-to-find apartment for delivery orders.

Be sure to try the vegetarian soyrizzo and the guacamole is the best in town (worth an extra $1). The brownies can‘t be beat either!

They are great burritos, but I just wish we had a Chipotle.

The burritos are really great. I think a bit pricey but it is very filling and satisfying. Everytime you go you can try something a little different because there are so many different choices. Dont pay with credit card cause it costs slightly extra and they dont tell you that, you have to read the tiny sign.

Since Pancheros closed, I lamented that I couldn‘t find a good chorizo burrito. Enter Flying Burrito. This is the best burrito in town. HUGE portion for cheap and the Soyrizo is fab! We have eaten there frequently and the burritos are always served at the correct temperature.

I do not know how I survived my first to years without Flying Burrito. This is the greatest place to eat ever. I have never had a bad burrito. The price is just fine considering how much food you get. The only thing they could improve on is steam heating it after it is made like other burrito places.

I eat there about 4 times a week and have never had a cold burrito. They don‘t keep the salsas and such warm, but the warm meat, rice, beans, and tortillas more than make up for it. They are always just right and as far as I can tell the food is always fresh.

I live next door to the place and the majority of the time the food is ice cold instead of warm... I definitely wouldn‘t want to eat there unless I was sure they had just made all the food.

how can $5 for a hugeass burritto that is easily two meals for one person with an average appetite be "too pricey"? more expensive than taco bell, sure, but they use fresh ingredients and make everything from scratch, even the guacamole.

the burritos are great!!! kinda pricey, but worth the treat once in a while.

Check out thier web site amesflyingburrito.com. They have a cool web-cam of thier kitchen and stuff

As I stood in a fast-moving lunchtime line, I noticed the 50-lb. bag of onions, the burlap bags of black beans & the stacked crates of rice. Wow! Flying B. makes everything themselves from scratch! You can watch the chicken sizzle on a massive griddle behind the burrito slingers. REAL food--fresh & fast. Friendly staff. Inside, the restaurant looks like the stripped down interior of a plane‘s fuselage. An outstanding place. Trust me--you‘ll be back.

Great food, great service, highly recommended.

I am a fan of burrito joints and I have to say that Flying Burrito is the best. It has the most variety, and is open late for a college kid on the go. I‘m not a vegetarian and I still love the soyrizo. If your burrito breaks they always patch it back up for you. Highly reccomended. I‘ve been going there since the day they opened. -Matt Newcomb

The thing burrito always falls apart . . .

This place is alright. It really is nothing special. I don‘t understand why they don‘t have corn tortillas, yet they have tomato, and "garden" tortillas. I‘ve eaten there about 6 times since they opened and it has improved in flavor over time. The meat can still be bland, especially the beef. The chicken meat, however is well seasoned, but has always been overcooked. I still like Chipolte better because I have never been dissatisfied.

Fantastic. Good people, good food, decent price ($5 for a giant burrito). I ate at chipotle for the first time in DC last weekend, and it was good, but TFB is better.

-Drew Miller

Food sucks. Isn‘t that tasty, pretty boring and too small. Chipotle is much better, and bigger for the money. I wish we had one here.

it was expensive when i went there

freakin‘ sweet.

I eat there 5 days a week! It‘s cheap and very healthy - all the food is prepared fresh and right in front of you. You get a huge burrito in just minutes!